IGF 2025 Lightning Talk #185 Whose tech? Our Choices - towards new AI benchmarks

From the printing press to the steam engine and the interned, technological innovation has always been intimately interlinked with human progress. Now, with the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence, technology’s role in driving development has re-emerged at the top of the policy agenda. Is Artificial Intelligence just another technological revolution, or does it present something fundamentally different for human development? The 2025 Human Development explores the AI & human development nexus. Fundamentally, this is a report about people: how AI affects people at different stages of their lives, and how it influences broader social, economic, and political processes. While much of the public debate fixates on AI’s technical capabilities and competitive dynamics – who will “win” the AI race, and whether AI will replace humans – this report argues that we need to shift the conversation. Instead of asking "When will AI surpass human capabilities?" we should be asking "How can AI advance human potential and well-being?" AI’s potential for human development is profound. However, its success depends on more than just algorithms. Overly simplistic approaches risk reinforcing rather than solving systemic problems. Steering AI toward human development goals requires deliberate institutional responses. Market forces alone have often fallen short in delivering inclusive opportunities from technological progress, as evidenced by persistent inequalities, digital divides, and lagging ICT integration in many parts of the world. Many of the challenges associated with AI are not inherent to the technology itself, but stem from how technologies are designed, deployed and interact with the contexts in which they operate, as well as the business models and incentives that shape their use. This lightning talk will present the key findings from the 2025 HDR, along with a deep dive into governance implications of AI’s rapid evolution. A key focus will be the call for a new coalition for AI benchmarks that allows us to align AI with human development goals. To align AI more closely with development goals, new benchmarks are needed—ones that evaluate AI’s contributions to human potential rather than just its technical efficiency. This requires a multi-stakeholder effort to design and promote benchmarks that measure AI’s role in enhancing well-being, expanding opportunities, and fostering inclusive progress. By establishing these new evaluation standards, we can ensure that AI is not just optimized for speed and accuracy but also for human flourishing. The talk will center around three main questions: - what new institutional responses are needed to steer AI toward human development goals? - How should existing frameworks evolve to address AI’s unique characteristics and ensure that AI enhances human development? - How can benchmarks be reimagined to measure AI’s impact on human well-being, opportunity, and agency?

We will ensure real-time interaction through live polling, Q&A sessions, and chat. Attendees, both onsite and online, will be encouraged to share their thoughts and questions using online tools